Photographic printing frames or copyholders



1959 e. PERRIN PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING FRAMES OR COPYHOLDERS 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 5, 1956 Aug, 4, 1959 G. PERRIN 2,397,740

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING FRAMES OR COPYHOLDERS File d June 5, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 2 (3. PERRIN Aug. 4, 1959 PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING FRAMES OR COPYHOLDERS Filed June 5, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Aug. 4, 1959 G. PERRIN 2,897,740

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING FRAMES 0R COPYHOLDERS Filed June 5, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Aug. 4, 1959 pERRlN 2,897,740

' PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING FRAMES OR COPYHOLDERS Filed June 5, 1956 r 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I '6, l I i g I I l- I i I 3 r I I I I I F I |IIHII I I I N I Q MWQIM: R G i pex-Hw G, IIIoww/fl United States Patent PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING FRAMES OR COPYHOLDERS George Perrin, Crawley, England, assignor to Pictorial Machinery Limited, Crawley, England, a British com- P y Application June 5, 1956, Serial No. 589,429

Claims priority, application Great Britain June 23, 1955 3 Claims. (Cl. 9573) The invention relates to photographic printing frames or copyholders and is more particularly concerned with such frames or copyholders of the kind (hereinafter referred to as the kind described) comprising a frame member carrying a transparent sheet (e.g. of glass) and a frame member carrying a blanket or like support, for the reception of a negative (or like image-bearing transparency) and a sheet of photosensitive material, or copy to be photographed, between the transparent sheet and the blanket or like support.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved printing frame or copyholder of the kind described.

The invention provides a photographic printing frame or copyholder of the kind described, in which the said frame members are supported by links pivotally connected thereto and in which the weight of one of the frame members at least partly counterbalances the weight of the other frame member.

Preferably the links are arranged in pairs, the two links in each pair are arranged in X relation and are supported by a pivot at their intersection, the ends of the links being attached to the frame members so that the links in each pair rotate relatively to one another about their supporting pivot as the frame members are moved towards and away from one another to close and open the frame or copyholder. Preferably there are two pairs of links disposed respectively at opposite sides or ends of the frame members, the links being all of equal length and being pivotally and slidably connected to the frame members, and releasable means are provided for maintaining the frame members horizontal during closing and opening of the frame or copyholder. The frame members are preferably rotatable aboutthe pivots at the intersections of the links, when the frame or copyholder is closed and the said releasable maintaining means are released, to permit the frame or copyholder to be oriented vertically, or at anyother convenientangle, for exposure to a printing lamp or acamera.

A specific construction of a photographic printing frame (which may alternatively beemployed as a copyholder) embodying theinvention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an end View of the apparatus, with the open position of the frame members and links indicated in chain lines,

Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus,

Figure 3 is an enlarged and more detailed view of part of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a part sectional view of the other end of the apparatus on the line 44 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an interior view of one end support of the apparatus, on the line 5-5 of Figure 2,

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view of the line 66 of Figure 7,

Figure 7 is a detail view, partly in section, on the line 77 of Figure 6,

Figure 8 is a view showing one of the guiding arrangements associated with the lower frame member,

Figures 9 and 10 show the locking arms for the frame members, respectively in released and locked positions,

Figure 11 is an enlarged sectional view through the lower frame member, on the line 11--11 in Figure 9,

Figure 12 is a sectional view on the line 1212 of Figure 11, and

Figure 13 is a sectional view on the line 1313 of Figure 9.

In this example the printing frame comprises two similar end castings 21, 22 connected by rods 23 and mounted on casters 24, which castings carry the frame members 25, 26 by means of pairs of crossed links 27, 28, 31, 32. The pair of links 31, 32 are pivotally supported on a bolt 33 secured in a boss 34 of the casting 21, and the pair of links 27, 28 are similarly pivotally supported from the casting 22. The ends of the links carry rollers 35 which provide connections with the upper and lower frames by means of track bars 36, 37 and track plates 38, 39, between which the rollers 35 run, and retaining plates 41 and stop blocks 42 which retain the rollers 35 between the track bars and track plates. The ends of the links are thus pivotally and slidably connected to the frames. When the lower frame 26 is moved downwardly from its closed position shown in full lines in Figure l to its open position shown in chain lines in that figure the links act to raise the upper frame 25 from its closed position to its open position. Similarly the two frames 25, 26 may be moved together back to their closed posi-' tion by moving the frame 26 upwardly.

During such opening and closing movement the frames 25, 26 are maintained horizontal by means of brackets, 43 attached to, and depending from, the lower frame 26 and carrying rollers 44 received between track members 45 provided on track arms 46. The track arms 46 are pivoted at 47 to the bolts 33 on which the links are pivoted. The track arms 46 are normally each prevented from rotating away from a position in which its track members 45 are vertical, by means of two spring-urged headed locking pins 48 axially slidable in bosses 49 in the castings 21, 22 and urged by helical compression springs 51 to enter locking apertures 50 provided in the track plates 46. When the pins 48 are withdrawn against the action of their springs the track plates may pivot about the bolts 33. To guide them during such pivoting movement two guide bars 52 are provided, extending between bosses 53 and the bosses 49 on the end castings 21, 22 and providing flat parallel guide faces 54 between when the track bars 46 are received.

The upper frame 25 carries a sheet of plate glass 55 secured in position by the track plates 38 and plates 56,-

discs -are'interconnected by a shaft 66 so that the two pairs of locking bars may be operated by either of the two handles 65. The outer ends of the bars 62 engage with lugs 67 provided on the upper frame 25 and those outer ends are guided by pins 68 carrying rollers 69 running in inclined slots 71. The shaft 66 has a projection 72 engaging with a leaf spring 73 which urges the locking bars to the locking position. The locking mechanism is concealed by easing pieces 74. Means (not shown) are provided for exhausting air from between the glass and the blanket so that atmospheric pressure acting on the blanket presses the negative and photosensitive material (or the copy) evenly against the glass. The frame may then be exposed to a lamp (or to a camera when it is used as a copyholder). If the frame is required to be vertical during such exposure, the locking pins 48 are withdrawn and the frame is rotated to the vertical position. After the exposure the frame is rotated back to its horizontal position, whereupon the locking pins 48 spring into locking engagement with the track arms. The handles 65 are then operated to unlock the frame and the upper and lower frame members are moved apart to permit unloading of the negative and photo-sensitive material (or the copy) and to permit the frame to be reloaded for another exposure.

The lower frame member is accessible from all around its periphery, except for over the end castings, and this facilitates loading and unloading. Little effort is required to move the upper and lower frames towards one another as their. weights nearly counterbalance one another.

The invention is not restricted to the constructional details of the foregoing example.

I claim:

1. A photographic holding frame comprising in combination a first frame member including a transparent sheet, a second frame member including a support for supporting sheet material between the said transparent sheet and the said support, and two pairs of links constituting sole means interconnecting and supporting said frame members, the two links in each pair being arranged in X relation and being supported by a pivot at .their inter-connection, the ends of the links being pivotally and slidably attached to the frame members whereby the links in each pair rotate relatively to one another about their supporting pivot as the frame members are moved towards and away from one another to close and open the frame, the pairs of links being disposed respectively at opposite sides of the frame members, the links being all of equal length, whereby the two frames are maintained parallel to one another, the frame members and links being freely movable relative to one another, and the weight of each of the frame members acting through the links to substantially counter-balance the weight of the other frame member, whereby the frame members may be manually moved apart and towards one another with little effort and remain automatically in any relative positions to which they are moved, at least one track arm rotatable about a pivot at the intersection of a pair of the links, means carried by one of the frame members and constrained by the track arm for movement along a direction radial to the axis of that pivot, and releasable means for locking the track arm against movement about that pivot and with the said direction vertical, thereby to maintain the frame members horizontal during closing and opening of the frame.

2. A photographic holding frame comprising in combination a first frame member including a transparent sheet, a second frame member including a support for supporting sheet material between the said transparent sheet and the said support, and two pairs of links alone interconnecting and supporting said frame members, the two links in each pair being arranged in X relation and being supported by a pivot at their inter-connection, the ends of the links being pivotally and slidably attached directly to the frame members whereby the links in each pair rotate relatively to one another about their supporting pivot as the frame members are moved towards and away from one another to close and open the frame, the pairs of links being disposed respectively at opposite sides of the frame members, the links being all of equal length, whereby the two frames are maintained parallel to one another, the frame members and links being freely movable relative to one another, the weight of each of the frame members acting through the links to at least nearly counter-balance the weight of the other frame member, at least one track arm rotatable about a pivot at the intersection of a pair of the links, means carried by one of the frame members and constrained by the track arm for movement along a direction radial to the axis of that pivot, and releasable means for locking the track arm against movement about that pivot and with the said direction vertical, thereby to maintain the frame members horizontal during closing and opening of the frame.

3. A photographic holding frame comprising in combination a first frame member including a transparent sheet, a second frame member including a support for supporting sheet material between the said transparent sheet and the said support, and two pairs of links constituting sole means interconnecting and supporting said frame members, the two links in each pair being arranged in X relation and being supported by a pivot at their interconnection, the ends of the links being pivotally and slidably attached to the frame members whereby the links in each pair rotate relatively to one another about their supporting pivot as the frame members are moved towards and away from one another to close and open the frame, the pairs of links being disposed respectively at opposite sides of the frame members, the links being all of equal length, whereby the two frames are maintained parallel to one another, the frame members and links being freely movable relative to one another and the weight of each of the frame members acting through the links to at least nearly counter-balance the weight of the other frame member, whereby the frame members may be manually moved apart and towards one another with little effort and remain automatically in any relative positions to which they are moved, at least one track arm rotatable about a pivot at the intersection of a pair of the links, means carried by one of the frame members and constrained by the track arm for movement along a direction radial to the axis of that pivot, and releasable means for locking the track arm against movement about that pivot and with the said direction vertical, thereby to maintain the frame members horizontal during the closing and opening of the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,831,389 Jones Nov. 10, 1931 2,064,068 Kappe Dec. 15, 1936 2,257,581 Ulsheimer Sept. 30, 1941 2,287,228 Campbell June 23, 1942 2,594,920 Holpern Apr. 29, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 519,593 Germany Mar. 9, 1931 632,393 Great Britain Nov. 28, 1949 

